‘Overwhelming’ £18k raised in Saintfield Action Cancer event

‘Overwhelming’ £18k raised in Saintfield Action Cancer event

9 October 2024

A HUGELY successful ewe breeding lamb auction has raised just over £18,200 for Action Cancer.

The event – held at Saintfield Livestock Mart – was organised by Raffrey farmer Dee Heron, an Action Cancer Skin Cancer Ambassador and volunteer with the Moneyreagh and District Action Cancer Fundraising Group, and his family.

The evening proved to be another success raising £18,215 for the charity, which will help fund its cancer support services including its skin cancer detection service.

Last year’s charity auction raised just over £15,000 for the charity.

Valerie Heron, treasurer of the Moneyreagh group and member of the farming community, said  everyone is “absolutely overwhelmed” to have raised such an amount of money for Action Cancer and its lifesaving services. 

And she is delighted the recent fundraiser surpassed the huge sum raised last year.

Valerie thanked auctioneer Geoffrey Murphy and all the staff at Saintfield Livestock Mart for their support and everyone who made donations and bid on the animals.

“We could never have anticipated raising such a significant amount of money and are truly grateful to all involved.”

The money raised from the livestock auction will enable Action Cancer to provide 151 appointments for early detection of skin cancer. 

Dee Heron has been a volunteer with Action Cancer for 30 years and organised the auction along with his wife Valerie, son Gavin, 13 year-old grandson Harry and brother-in-law William Strain. 

He’s delighted that the money raised will go towards Action Cancer’s skin cancer detection service. 

“I know first-hand how important a service like this is to the farming community,” revealed Dee.

“I have worked outdoors all my life and when I was a young lad making hay at 10 years old, it was shirts off running around the field thinking it was great. We didn’t have any sun cream on and there was no protection. 

“I was diagnosed with skin cancer in 2008 after a mole on my spine looked suspicious. Thankfully it was caught early and I’m now cancer free.”

Dee is also encouraging anyone who works outdoors to ensure they protect themselves in the sun, keep covered up and wear sun cream.

Noticeable

“If you have any moles, keep a close eye on them and if there are any noticeable changes, contact Action Cancer,” he added.

Action Cancer community fundraising executive, Mark Irwin-Watson, said the Moneyreagh and District Group was formed in 1978, three years after Action Cancer was established, and has been raising money for the charity ever since. 

“The volunteers dedicate a tremendous amount of time and effort fundraising for the charity and have raised hundreds of thousands of pounds over the years,” he said.

“We are beyond grateful to Dee and Valerie Heron and everyone involved in this hugely successful fundraising event. Action Cancer receives no regular government funding so support like this is vital to our work and ensures we can deliver our range of cancer prevention, detection and support services.”

The cash the recent auction raised is vital as Northern Ireland has one of the highest incidences of skin cancer in the UK. Non-melanoma skin cancer is the most common cancer in the country and melanoma, which is associated with moles, is the fifth. 

Action Cancer’s skin cancer detection service offers another pathway for people concerned about a new or changing skin lesion. Delivered by a highly qualified and experienced nursing specialist team, the service offers a two-stage process. 

Clients will first be assessed during a virtual appointment by a skin cancer specialist nurse. If a further assessment is needed, a face-to-face appointment is offered on board an upcoming visit by the Big Bus – supported by SuperValu and Centra – which visits all five health trust areas across Northern Ireland twice every four weeks or at Action Cancer House in Belfast.

The Big Bus visits up to 200 locations throughout Northern Ireland each year including rural areas and areas of high deprivation where health inequalities are greatest. 

In addition to the skin cancer detection service, breast cancer screening and health checks are also offered on board. 

Action Cancer has been at the heart of cancer prevention, detection and support for people in Northern Ireland for the past 50 years. 

The services the charity provides are free to the user but come at a cost of £4m every year. 

Services include an early detection breast screening clinic, therapeutic services for people living with a cancer diagnosis, as well as people supporting a loved one with a diagnosis and a range of health improvement services. 

These can be accessed from Action Cancer House in Belfast or from 14 regional locations and on board the Big Bus.